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VAssist supports three AI providers for natural language processing. Choose the provider that best fits your needs.

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Provider Overview

Chrome AI

Free, local, and privateUses Google’s Gemini Nano running entirely on your device. No API keys required.

OpenAI

Powerful cloud modelsAccess GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and other OpenAI models via API.

Ollama

Self-hosted flexibilityRun local LLMs (Llama 2, Mistral, etc.) on your own machine.

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Chrome AI (Default)

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Requirements

Chrome 138+ required with specific feature flags enabled.
Chrome AI uses Google’s on-device Gemini Nano model. Configuration is done via chrome://flags:

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Required Flags

1

Enable Optimization Guide

Navigate to:
chrome://flags/#optimization-guide-on-device-model
Set to: “Enabled BypassPerfRequirement”This enables the on-device AI model to run without hardware restrictions.
2

Enable Prompt API

Navigate to:
chrome://flags/#prompt-api-for-gemini-nano
Set to: “Enabled”Activates the Language Model API for text generation.
3

Enable Multimodal Input

Navigate to:
chrome://flags/#multimodal-input
Set to: “Enabled”Required for audio/image support in Chrome AI.
4

Restart Chrome

After enabling all flags, restart Chrome for changes to take effect.

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Configuration

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provider
string
default:"chrome-ai"
Set provider to chrome-ai in AI Config settings.
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chromeAi.temperature
number
default:"1.0"
Controls response randomness and creativity.
  • Range: 0.0 - 2.0
  • Low (0.0-0.7): More focused and deterministic
  • Medium (0.8-1.2): Balanced creativity
  • High (1.3-2.0): More random and creative
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chromeAi.topK
number
default:"3"
Number of top token candidates considered for each generation step.
  • Range: 1 - 128
  • Lower: More focused responses
  • Higher: More diverse vocabulary
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chromeAi.outputLanguage
string
default:"en"
Preferred output language for responses.Supported languages:
  • en - English
  • es - Spanish
  • ja - Japanese
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chromeAi.enableImageSupport
boolean
default:"true"
Enable multimodal image analysis capabilities.Requires the Multimodal Input flag enabled.
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chromeAi.enableAudioSupport
boolean
default:"true"
Enable multimodal audio transcription.Requires the Multimodal Input flag enabled.

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System Prompts

Customize the assistant’s personality and behavior:
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chromeAi.systemPromptType
string
default:"default"
Select a pre-configured personality:
  • default: Helpful and concise assistant
  • professional: Formal, well-structured responses
  • friendly: Warm and conversational
  • technical: Expert technical guidance
  • creative: Imaginative and expressive
  • concise: Brief, to-the-point answers
  • teacher: Educational explanations
  • custom: Use your own custom prompt
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chromeAi.systemPrompt
string
default:""
Custom system prompt (only used when systemPromptType is custom).Example:
You are a helpful coding assistant specializing in JavaScript and React.
Provide clear, concise code examples and explanations.

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OpenAI

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API Key Setup

1

Get API Key

  1. Sign up at platform.openai.com
  2. Navigate to API Keys section
  3. Click “Create new secret key”
  4. Copy the key (starts with sk-)
2

Configure VAssist

  1. Open AI Config settings
  2. Select OpenAI as provider
  3. Paste your API key
  4. Choose a model

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Configuration

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provider
string
Set to openai to use OpenAI models.
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openai.apiKey
string
required
Your OpenAI API key.
Never share or commit your API key. It’s stored locally in browser storage.
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openai.model
string
default:"gpt-4-turbo-preview"
OpenAI model to use for chat completions.Recommended models:
  • gpt-4-turbo-preview - Latest GPT-4 Turbo (best quality)
  • gpt-4 - Standard GPT-4
  • gpt-3.5-turbo - Faster, more economical
  • gpt-3.5-turbo-16k - Extended context window
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openai.temperature
number
default:"0.7"
Response creativity (0.0 - 2.0).
  • 0.0-0.3: Focused, deterministic
  • 0.4-0.7: Balanced (recommended)
  • 0.8-1.0: Creative
  • 1.1-2.0: Very creative/random
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openai.maxTokens
number
default:"2000"
Maximum tokens in the response.
  • Higher values allow longer responses
  • Affects API costs
  • Typical range: 500-4000
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openai.enableImageSupport
boolean
default:"true"
Enable GPT-4 Vision for image analysis.Requires gpt-4-vision-preview or similar vision-capable model.
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openai.enableAudioSupport
boolean
default:"true"
Enable audio transcription via Whisper API.

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System Prompts

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openai.systemPromptType
string
default:"default"
Choose from the same personality options as Chrome AI (default, professional, friendly, etc.).
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openai.systemPrompt
string
default:""
Custom system prompt when systemPromptType is custom.

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Ollama (Local)

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Setup

1

Install Ollama

Download and install from ollama.aiSupported platforms: macOS, Linux, Windows
2

Pull a Model

Open terminal and download a model:
# Llama 2 (7B)
ollama pull llama2

# Mistral (7B)
ollama pull mistral

# CodeLlama (7B)
ollama pull codellama
3

Start Ollama Server

Ollama runs automatically after installation. Verify it’s running:
curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags
4

Configure VAssist

  1. Open AI Config
  2. Select Ollama as provider
  3. Set endpoint to http://localhost:11434
  4. Enter the model name (e.g., llama2)

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Configuration

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provider
string
Set to ollama for local Ollama models.
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ollama.endpoint
string
default:"http://localhost:11434"
Ollama API endpoint.
  • Default: http://localhost:11434
  • Custom: If running on different port/host
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ollama.model
string
default:"llama2"
required
Model name to use.Popular models:
  • llama2 - Meta’s Llama 2
  • mistral - Mistral 7B
  • codellama - Code-specialized Llama
  • mixtral - Mixtral 8x7B (larger, more capable)
  • phi - Microsoft Phi-2
Run ollama list to see installed models.
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ollama.temperature
number
default:"0.7"
Response creativity (0.0 - 2.0).
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ollama.maxTokens
number
default:"2000"
Maximum tokens in response.
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ollama.enableImageSupport
boolean
default:"true"
Enable image analysis (requires vision-capable model like llava).
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ollama.enableAudioSupport
boolean
default:"true"
Enable audio transcription (experimental).

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System Prompts

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ollama.systemPromptType
string
default:"default"
Personality selection (same options as Chrome AI and OpenAI).
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ollama.systemPrompt
string
default:""
Custom system prompt for custom personality type.

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Provider Comparison

FeatureChrome AIOpenAIOllama
CostFreePay per tokenFree (self-hosted)
PrivacyLocal, privateCloud, data sent to OpenAILocal, private
SetupChrome flagsAPI keyInstall + download models
PerformanceFast, on-deviceFast, cloud-poweredDepends on hardware
ModelsGemini NanoGPT-4, GPT-3.5Llama 2, Mistral, etc.
Image SupportYes (multimodal)Yes (GPT-4 Vision)Yes (with llava)
Audio SupportYes (multimodal)Yes (Whisper)Limited
Internet RequiredNoYesNo

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Troubleshooting

Check:
  1. Chrome version 138 or higher
  2. All three flags enabled in chrome://flags
  3. Chrome restarted after enabling flags
  4. Model downloaded (check chrome://components)
Model download: Chrome downloads Gemini Nano automatically. This may take 10-30 minutes.
Common issues:
  • Invalid API key: Double-check key in settings
  • Rate limit: Reduce request frequency or upgrade plan
  • Model not found: Verify model name spelling
  • Insufficient quota: Add credits to OpenAI account
Verify:
  1. Ollama is running: ollama list
  2. Endpoint is correct: http://localhost:11434
  3. Model exists: ollama list shows your model
  4. No firewall blocking port 11434
Restart Ollama:
# macOS/Linux
ollama serve

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